Covid-19 Advice to UK Members

The health and wellbeing of our team is integral to the operation of a profession regulator. To protect the health of our team all management and support staff are now working from home.

We are working hard to ensure a minimal level of impact on our services, but there are differences so please do bear with us if response times are longer than usual.If you would like advice, or require assistance please contact our support teams by email, membership@intfedreflexologists.org by phone 0870 879 3562, or via the Online Support facility on the www.intfedreflexologists.org

We will continue to review the ongoing situation and update our advice statements accordingly.

Physical Contact Work
The guidance issue by the Government via Public Health England has been and continues to be very clear that all physical contact therapies should be ceased. The IFR code of Professional Conduct requires you to take all appropriate measures to safeguard the health and wellbeing of your clients, your staff and yourself.

Non-Physical Contact Work
The Government is advising that all non-essential travel be avoided. This advice will shortly become mandatory. In accordance with the Guidance on social distancing and The IFR Code of Professional Conduct non-physical contact disciplines should only be conducted remotely.

Practical advice on remote working
If your business is suitable for remote working and you are now working from home, it is worth downloading video conferencing and/or messaging software.
Options include:

For small companies the UK government has announced that it will offer a 100% Business Rates retail discount for companies whose property’s rateable value is less than £51,000. Businesses that pay little to no rates may also receive a £3,000 grant, provided they are currently eligible for Small Business Rate Relief (SBBR) or Rural Rates Relief.

For small and medium-sized business there is the Government-backed Business Interruption Loan Scheme which provides and access route for businesses needing access to bank lending and overdraft services.

It is a good idea to check if you’re covered by your business insurance. The Chancellor has confirmed that the government’s advice is sufficient for businesses to make a claim, where they have appropriate interruption cover for pandemics in place.

Guidance for the Self-employed

Claim a grant through the coronavirus (COVID-19) Self-employment Income Support Scheme

HMRC will contact you if you are eligible for the scheme and invite you to apply online.

This scheme will allow you to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next 3 months. This may be extended if needed.

You can apply if you’re a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and you:

have submitted your Income Tax Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19